People whose business models are threatened by strong post-grant review and improved patent quality continue to assert that non-practicing entities (NPEs) and the patent troll narrative is a myth or a fabrication of big tech companies. And yet, a new report by Hightech Solutions reaffirms what has long been known to be true: NPEs aggressively target manufacturers and attack businesses small and large alike in their pursuit of windfall profits.
According to the report, NPEs concentrated more than half of their attacks on two sectors—manufacturing and services. The manufacturing sector was hit the hardest, targeted in nearly 30% percent of all lawsuits. And that’s not just high tech manufacturing, either. HTS found as many lawsuits against wholesale durable goods makers as against computer manufacturers, and as many against non-durable wholesale goods as against automakers. Lawsuits against retailers were even nearly as common as lawsuits against communication service providers.